Tag: Travel

I love new beginnings, fresh starts, how my closet looks after I clean it…

I don’t love being grounded or having my life interrupted. Something that happened to me in 2019. Gastroparesis returned and I had to put off travel plans for a while. What to do, what to do? Put that money in my investment accounts and start a new gratitude list, of course!

Because when life gives you lemons, make a funny face and throw them at someone else to pass on the blessings! And, everything is a blessing. Even if they come disguised as curses.

So I found myself ready to adopt a new puppy last fall. He is my joy! Watching Winston, running through our apartment, sliding on his butt just before he crashes into a wall. Life is good.

About a month ago, my little guy got very sick. What are the odds? Winston has Gastroparesis. Fortunately for Winston, I know how to care for this disease. Giving him love and ice cubes when he was thirsty and couldn’t hold anything down. Because I know exactly how he felt.

Thankfully, for dogs — and especially puppies, GP is rarely chronic. So, when Winston was feeling better, we took a ride. To Colorado. After all, my kids and granddaughters needed to experience the happiness Winston brings.

Instead of the 7-day trip we had planned, it was extended to 12 days. Because it is just so difficult to say good-bye to my loved ones.

Moreover, I was able to witness my oldest son’s Chrismation in the Orthodox Church. What a gift to be able to see his spiritual journey in motion. My son let go of the old names and took on the name “Peter”. His reasons were profound. However, that is his story to tell, not mine. I just get to observe…blissfully!

Returning home, I unpacked our bags and spent a few hours cleaning my closet. It was dark by the time I finished. So, I turned on the closet light, sat down and just stared inside my newly organized wardrobe. There is something deeply spiritual about an organized closet…

A random memory of my brother, Stan practicing his disco moves with me. Making me think, we were practicing our disco moves. This was the only time I felt that I knew how to dance. Disco…one of the finest genres of all!

What is it about welcoming a new year that brings you joy? Talk to me…and stay blissful my friends.

2019 has become the year of shedding excess for me. Remarkably so, this theme has been communicated to me through, prayer, meditation, yoga, and Netflix. All in January 2019. I hear you, God!

Therefore, I am sharing this part of my journey for the next few blog posts. I have outlined my she-shedding as follows:

Emotional

“Responsibilities” to Family & Friends

Circle of “Friends”

Fear

Physical

Hair

Weight

Clothes

SHOES!!

Home

Yoga Practice

Career

Number of Clients

Amount of “Busy Work”

Spiritual

Empathetic Attacks

Sex

The Overwhelming amount of “Inspirational” Facebook Groups

For today’s blog, let’s focus on shedding emotional excess:

“Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert

The summer of 2018 was not an easy one for me. I was selling my home and moving from Colorado. It was time. I had planned to move to Hawaii but took a detour to West Texas. I found a love for this little town and its community. Things run slower and it is much quieter than Loveland, Colorado.

Unfortunately, some of my friends and family felt I was abandoning them. This pulled on my “responsible” apron strings. And shit got ugly. I can’t remember feeling so guilty about “doing me”…well ever. People said I was chasing after my new love. Not true. He and I decided to hang in West Texas for a couple of months, while I decided what I wanted to do. Since we both travel, we decided to make our RV in West Texas our landing spot.

The gift of this relationship: No unrealistic expectations or responsibilities. However, my guilty feelings over the summer flowed into our vibe from time to time. On one such day, at a carnival, I could not bring myself to smile. If you know me, I smile a lot sooo…

It was time to set my friends and family free to make their own decisions. Time for them too experience their own journeys. Regardless, of my desire to “fix” everyone else’s problems. I need to do the things I have feared my whole life.

Thus, I let them go. Of course, I let them go with a blessing and not a curse. Regardless, I did experience frustration and shake my fist at times. I am human after all. This began my process of shedding emotional excess.

But Elysia, How do I Shed Emotional Excess?

I’m so glad you asked! As have always been instructed by my advisors: First thing you do is pray. But faith without works is dead. Therefore, action must follow…

Service Work to Others – Just because my life seems like shit, doesn’t mean that others who have it better than me. Absolutely not! Being present and offering an ear to someone else surely gets me out of my own BS.

Staying True to Commitments – Life continues no matter what. Suit up and show up, even if it is just to shut up…

Focus – When we are emotional, we can certainly be effective. We have emotional energy. Use it!

And personally, most importantly:

There are no victims, only volunteers

I took a 2-month trip to South America to be alone for a while and reflect. Speaking with my boyfriend on the phone, I recognized that I didn’t handle the summer of 2018 so well. But now I was getting a do-over – celebrating Summer Solstice the second time. I was not going to let history repeat itself twice in one year!

Suddenly, I observed how I had re-developed the victim role. WITAF?!!
I had been playing victim during the whole summer in the states! What an effin’ waste of time! Precious time, I might add.

Just to be clear, there are benefits of being a victim – people feel sorry for me, the person who upset me might send gifts…etc.

Therefore, I took some time to identify the pros and cons of being a victim. Not surprisingly, the cons outweighed the pros. How could I be the warrior queen I say I am and be a victim at the same time? I cannot.

Consequently, I stopped letting people talk to me a certain way. This is not easy. Indeed, it takes courage. But we do teach others how to treat us. Stepping up and standing up for myself is essential.

None of this is new. I have known this for a long time. I guess revisiting this lesson was in order. Just to make sure that being a victim still does not serve me, I’m sure.

While in Punta Hermosa, Lima, Peru, I rediscovered my courage to face the power of the waves. I have always had a love for swimming in the ocean. But I also have a reverent fear of its strength. I wanted to swim further. Swimming into the waves, I ate shit a few times. Then enjoyed the glory of floating far from the shore… That moment, that day I shed some excess – fear.

Do you “feel” the need to shed excess emotional excess? If so, comment below. And stay blissful my friends.

We could all use a little change – Smashmouth

My hair is short today. At the beginning of the year, I had long extensions. They were removed in the Spring. My hair was then just past shoulder length. Not a bad length. But then I got obsessive about my gray hairs and decided to have it colored, then highlighted.

Between all the chemicals and heat styling, my hair started dying. Rapidly. So it had to be cut down. Oh, it will grow again. Maybe.

Oh, and the weight gain…caused another back injury. Just as I arrived in Ecuador. Most of my food goes bad because I buy too much anyway. But I continue to wake up in the middle of the night to sneak Oreos from the pantry. Why are there Oreos in my pantry?!!!

Laundry day has become an all-day event, prompting me to buy more clothes?! Am I the only one?

Outward Representations

They say the outward is a direct representation of the inward. This year has proven that statement to be quite fair. I have taken a long inventory of the excess in my life as of late. My physical being told a great story.

Weight (This one Really Hurts)

I had a back injury in 2016. In addition to treatment, I was put on a Ketogenic diet to lose 30 lbs. This was a complete success throughout late 2016 and all of 2017. I felt better than I had in years!

But then, I thought I could have a cookie in 2018…Mind you, I had just begun a new relationship with a wonderful man and lost my soulmate (my dog, Chewy). So much emotion – and this will be another topic in the Shedding the Excess Process.

Because emotion plays right into eating habits for me, by the end of 2018 I had gained 15 of those pounds back. Now that doesn’t seem like much but let me tell you, I injured my back again. Additionally, heartburn and burning mouth syndrome have returned.

The solution to this: Find another healthy eating program. One in which I can afford. I decided upon HIITBURN after completing their questionnaire. For $97.00, I get a personal coach. This is extremely helpful since I travel a lot and cannot go into a clinic for weigh-ins.

Home

My house in Colorado was difficult to give up. So many memories. My son wanted to buy it to raise my granddaughters in the home they knew so well. Unfortunately, he could not come up with the money in time and my ex-husband was wanting his money.

This proved to be a blessing in disguise. The house did hold many moments in time. And it was time to let those moments go. Just as I had said goodbye to Chewy, I needed to say goodbye to the home I raised him within.

Again, this was an emotional process. I had already minimized so much and moved into an RV. But there was more.

How many of us hold on to a cluttered home because we just cannot let go of the dead energy that we know so well. There is safety in the familiar. I had learned this when I got sober. I had learned this when I got divorced.

I realized that I did not want the responsibility of a mortgage. I didn’t even want the responsibility of digging in roots anymore. It’s time to travel the world. It’s my time. And, it’s time to own it.

House sold.

SHOES!!

Okay, I have a love-hate relationship with shoes. But especially boots. I have been stalked by shoes and boots on Facebook. But alas, I have no room for all the shoes that I once owned. Furthermore, I don’t need all of them!

Clothes

When I am in my new landing spot in West Texas, I dread laundry day. Packing for my long-term trips around the world is a nightmare.

I had a flannel shirt for 15 years. It served me well until the holes could no longer be mended. After which, trying to find that perfect flannel again took another 15 years. I remember a conversation with my favorite pair of white pants when I was 16. “Okay, I am giving you one more chance to make it right. I’m going to wash you with bleach and if you are still pink when you come out, it’s off to the Segunda for you!”. They came out white again…

I downsized my wardrobe twice in 2018 and have concluded that I need to do this again. But clothing also has an emotional connection. This item was a gift, this other item was something I wore on a special day. How can I hold on to these memories while letting go of the piece of clothing that means so much to me?

Yoga Practice

How can one practice Yoga too much? When it starts to lean more on either aspect – the physical/spiritual. Yoga burn-out is real. It happens. It was happening to me. Just after a great year of taking two additional Yoga Teacher Trainings.

It was time to change it up. I had no choice but to do so when I injured my back. Taking a look at the many different practices:

Hatha

Iyengar

Restorative

Yin

Kundalini

I landed back on Kundalini because, though it can be physical, it is also less stressful on the back for some reason. I found a lovely 40-day Kundalini for weight loss program. What I started to see as a continual topic through this program was “Shedding the Excess”.

This is just a small piece of the pie. (oh, I want pie). There’s much more excess to cut:

People are flocking to the Minimalist Movement. But do they really know why it is so appealing? Do they understand the philosophy behind this movement? Or is this just another pop-cultural thing to do? Another “Shiny Object” to play with for a while?

For me, it has become a new prana. The only way to truly breathe now. And I realized this when I looked in the mirror and saw that my hair is short today.

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…What they are asking me – the woman who is traveling alone. Their Questions and my answers.

I’m in my second year post-divorce. What have I learned? So much, I have to gather my thoughts quite often.

I have learned that I enjoy traveling. I love to travel with the boyfriend. I love to travel alone. Presently, I am in the midst of a 2 1/2 month solo visit to South America.

Unusual Lifestyle?

I am also learning how this new lifestyle scares the hell out of some people. Or at least confuses the hell out of them. It’s become a fun little game of question and answer… or unsolicited statement and unsolicited reply.

Next time you should experience this with someone you love.

I am experiencing this with someone I love – Me.

Who is driving you around?

The bus driver.

Be careful!!

Of course.

Aren’t you lonely?

Sometimes. But everyone should experience loneliness from time to time. It helps one appreciate the presence of others.

Do you need help with that?

I sure do. Thank you!

Do you miss home?

I am home.

So, I don’t mind the questions or comments. Like everything else in my life, I just have fun with them!

Ultimately, I am having a fine time. Meeting new friends. Staying in and binge-watching shows without being judged. Walking through city squares at night, people watching. Lots of Café con Leche!

Ecuador has become my new favorite place. Olon, in particular. But Lima, Peru has its charm as well.

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Staying Connected

My daughter and I have a scheduled weekly chat to check in about our lives and new adventures. And there’s the occasional text to and from my sons. My oldest will be joining me in Peru to celebrate Christmas. I miss my kids. Yet, I am so happy that they are all living their truth. Experiencing their personal journeys.

I really miss my granddaughters deeply. Thankfully, they are in good hands. My son and his wife are an excellent team as parents.

I really really miss the boyfriend. Fortunately, we have this understanding: We welcome these pauses in our relationship. No, It’s not an open relationship. We just are okay being apart and being alone at times.

Plans and Lessons

There were many plans made for this trek through South America. Unfortunately, it didn’t all work out according to said plans. But it never does. The back is injured again, interrupting surfing lessons. And I was doing so well! So I guess I will try again next year. 2019 is on its way, regardless of whether I give it permission to do so.

Then there’s the “shedding the excess” lessons. This need is surely what this trip is uncovering. And I have learned, more importantly, to ask myself some questions:

Are you being you – living your truth?

Are you living according to your values?

Have you reviewed your values lately?

Can you be happy regardless of any circumstance?

Are you sincerely ready to let go of the past?

These questions are being answered along this journey through South America. I guess discovery is what adventure is all about, right? Stay Blissful My Friends. – e

I feel like I’m doing my own version Eat, Pray Love. But more like Love, Pray, Starve…

Exactly one year ago, I was falling in love with a man I had only met twice in 2017. But we wrote to each other quite often. He inspired me to write with all the rawness in my soul. Almost exactly one year ago, he surprised me in Hawaii. He showed up for my Yoga Teacher graduation.

We fell fast and hard. He lived on the East Coast, I lived in Colorado. But we met up around the 8th of each month and then spent the summer and fall in Texas together. For the first time in my life, I let a man be really good to me.

I welcomed him in. That he would know me, and I would know him. More intimately than anyone else. I let him see the good, the bad, the vulnerable, and even the insecure at times.

The boyfriend and I are good to be together. We are good staying in an RV in a small West Texas town. We are good to be apart for days, weeks, and even months.

We’ve connected in a way, I had never known possible. No drama, no games, just true love.

When an incident would more commonly lead to packed bags and a long car drive out of town, I remained. We walked through these moments together. It wasn’t easy. But so worth it.

But now, it’s time to get back to me…

I sound like a Fergie song. Blah! Have I been reduced to becoming a walking cliche of pop culture and inspirational quotes? And is anyone even reading this sh!t?

The medicine woman I met at the beginning of this trip has extended an invitation for a 3-week spiritual walk next year. There is much to consider, and I will first consult with my sponsor about some concerns I have before I can commit. Though, everything this lady shared with me seems to be a confirmation of sorts.

Alone in Olon

Did I really have to fly all the way to South America to feel lonely? Why Yes. Yes, I did. As I said last week, this has been a year of excess in the States for me. Mostly good, but not all.

So now I am detoxing from smoking, sugar, and (gah!) sex. Even the private party sex. (Oh, don’t judge! If you’ve never done it, you’re a liar.)

Anyway, back to me…

This first week in Olon has got me all twisted. I eat, work and sleep. I sleep a lot because I want chocolate cake, a cigarette, and my man.

I Have Found My People

But on the 3rd day, it is beautiful out and I must hit the beach. I also meet a friend on the Facebook Expat group. While we were communicating back and forth, we find out that she and her family are staying upstairs from me.

I have found my people! We are open about everything. My new pal will not tell me where to buy smokes (even though I don’t ask).

But a few days later I figure it out. I tell my new friends that I now know. But I chose not to buy a pack. This smoking cessation thing is a lot harder than it was the last time I quit. But I have not given in. They cheer me on!

Did I mention, that my people also live in an RV back in Canada? We talk about renting the big house on this property next year together. And extending our stay to 6 months.

But back to me…

Contentment

It’s incredible, how Ecuador has taught me how much I don’t need. My closet does not floweth over. My refrigerator is almost empty. But I’m neither naked nor hungry.

I come from a world that is conditioned to live a certain lifestyle. Though many of us don’t realize that this lifestyle is a choice. I have been hustling for new business constantly instead of being content with the clients I have right now.

What if I stopped working so hard to find more business and just focus on giving better service to my clients? I sound like the “Jerry McGuire” of the Online Business Management world. But I think I’ve tapped into something.

I don’t need as much money as I make already. What if I just lived off what I need and save the rest for another day?

We don’t have to choose what everyone else is doing if we don’t want to. Look at your lifestyle. Is this what you really want? If so, good. Be happy. If not, seek what brings you joy and go after it.

While you are working on this, I will get back to me…

“Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which animates all whom it floats, and you are without effort impelled to truth, to right and a perfect contentment.”

“Are you okay?”, the Native American Healer asks me. Good question. I can hardly reply, so the answer must be “no”. She continues, “Because you look like sh!t. Your energy is f*cked.”

I totally get it. It’s beyond vanity at this point. I have spent quite a few dollars changing my hairstyle, buying pretty flowers for my hair, etc. But there is something going on within and it is extending without.

I thought I had beaten my battle with sugar.

Unfortunately, this year got the best of me. Gluttony, sugar, smoking…What in the actual? What happened? Sickness, bad teeth and now another back injury have plagued me within the last 6 months.

So, I decided to spend a couple months in South America…alone. Well for the most part.

For the first wing of the trip, I flew my daughter and myself out to Ayampe, Ecuador. Ayampe is a lovely little surf town just 3 hours from Guayaquil. This place is off the beaten path. To buy any of the basics, like toothpaste, you will have to get a taxi or bus ride to Puerto Lopez.

We stayed at the beautiful Finca Punta Ayampe hotel. Wonderful staff, gorgeous setting, and delicious meals! The Staff Manager, Santiago, was extremely helpful in helping us get to our other locations.

There were so many stairs to reach our room, and then more stairs to get to the restaurant. This reminded me of my stay in Oia, Santorini Island, Greece. Only, I’m not is as good of shape as I was then. More to work on…

The plan was to spend a week doing Yoga and learning to surf. Unfortunately, I hurt my back lifting my bag during travel. Then my daughter got smacked in the mouth with her board. So, we are both in paradise, hurting.

Of course, I push it trying to do Yoga. But after 2 sessions at Otra Ola, I know I need to stop. I know this path all too well. No Yoga flows for at least 5 weeks. But I can probably find some Kundalini Kriyas, which will more than suffice. It’s been too long since I have practiced Kundalini.

Then there are the surfing lessons, which Otra Ola also provides. I did much better than I thought I would. Didn’t think that surfing would make my back worse. It did. Alas, I will probably have to get back to that next year, when I return. Too much risk. Well, at least we could take advantage of the soothing tea they brew when they are not teaching Yoga.

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I feel I cannot make this trip good enough for my daughter. We take walks along the beach, drink tea, and have some conversations. This was not the “retreat” I had envisioned…

I pull out my chanting books for my daughter and me to practice together. This is something we enjoy doing with one another.

But we meet the Medicine Woman. And we know that everything that has happened on this trip was for this divine appointment. We were meant to meet her this very day.

And the Medicine Woman has a lot to say to both of us. So instead of chanting. We listen.

Traveling abroad can be stressful and energy draining. It can also be adventurous! Finding a more than adequate cup of coffee proved to be part of the adventure. Walking through some nice places, not so nice places, getting lost, and trying to ask for directions from people who do not speak English – created much anticipation for that golden cup…of Joe!

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Athens, Greece

This was a lovely place to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful day while drinking our coffee. Located near the shopping area, it gave us just the right energy to walk through many streets and buy gifts for our loved ones.

Tailor Made was the first café we visited. After a loooong trek from our Airbnb spot, we arrived – 10 minutes before they opened. We found this out when the Barista rudely exclaimed this. So we took a couple seats on the patio table. After which, the Barista again reminded us that they were not open for another 10 minutes.

Although, I had a nice chat with a waitress, who informed me that our Airbnb was located across the street from Lindsay Lohan’s nightclub. She then told me some stories about said club.

I cannot remember if the coffee was good because I could not get past the boorish barista! I would not recommend this place to anyone who enjoys good service.

By far, this was the best place in Athens. We visited this place twice! The Barista was a friendly gentleman, who wore a butcher’s apron. He shared stories and news articles about Coffee competitions. Additionally, he selected the best treats for us and we just went with whatever he handed over. We were not disappointed at all!

The general vibe of this café was awesome! From the décor to the pleasant staff. The cappuccinos were splendid, as was the food. Hands down, it was the service that made our day. This is a must go to café in Athens!

We were welcomed by a lovely waitress named Sophia. She was on a smoke break and apologized. We laughed because Sophia was cute and funny in her apology. Sophia was a lot of fun, recommending that we eat as well as drink coffee.

My brother was especially amused by Sophia. This was a nice counterbalance to a stressful morning travel schedule. Just what the doctor ordered.

The view, friendly talks and of course, the coffee was perfect. If you are ever in Oia, GO to Passagio!

We had to laugh at the name of this place, which was about to close when we arrived. The Barista generously served us our much-needed cup of joe! The coffee was not the best, but we felt welcomed into this man’s world of Java!

My brother and I found that the people of Croatia were much friendlier than those of Athens.

This little packet of gold is huge in Croatia. Not that it is healthy to drink every day, I really enjoyed it! So much, that I came home and created my own blend, sans the cream with partially hydrogenated oil.

Whenever you visit Greece or Croatia, take some time to check out these places…And Stay Blissful My Friends!

About Helen and St. Constantine

St. Helen was born at Drepanum (Helenopolis) in Asia Minor. Married to Constantius Chlorus, their son St. Constantine the Great, was born in 274. Helen & Constantius were divorced in 294.

Constantine out of great honor and respect, granted his mother the imperial title “Augusta,” after he became emperor,

St. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 when he became the sole ruler of the Western Roman Empire. This guaranteed religious tolerance for Christians. It is believed that St. Helen, who was a Christian, may have influenced him in this decision. He also extended the provisions of the Edict of Milan to the Eastern half of the Empire. Christians could finally practice their faith without fear after three hundred years of persecution.

It is said that there are more churches than people in the village of Vothonas, where we were staying. This is easy to believe as one walks through the town. We passed more churches than we could count. Consequently, the cave house we were renting was across the street from what is known as “The Big Church”.

On the morning of May 21, 2017, while lounging, we heard what sounded like gunshots! I hit the floor (my natural reaction from living in the ghetto!)

My brother and I ran to the front of the house to see what was happening. It was a Church Celebration in honor of St. Constantine and Helen! We watched as several hundred participants walked in honor of these saints. It was a touching moment. I was honored to be able to see it up close and personal.

Love and Tolerance

For many years, Love and Tolerance has been my code. This sometimes means being tolerant of the intolerant. It may sound passive, but serenity is disrupted when one succumbs to anger and resentment.

Nowadays, in the U.S. there seems to be a lot of intolerance. Surprisingly, most come from the Christian community. Maybe this is fear based. No community wants their right to be taken away. God forbid that Christians might be persecuted in this great nation.

However, we must not let fear motivate us. Lest we succumb to the atrocious behaviors of historical intolerance.

I believe love and tolerance start within our homes, our neighborhoods, and our communities. Last month, the U.S. pulled out of the Paris Climate Control Agreement. Many were wailing gloom and doom projections. On the other hand, state and local governments were committing to hold to the agreement regardless.

Commitment from the grass roots! Sometimes political battles are lost. But the commitments don’t have to be. Thus, we can apply the practice of love and tolerance even if we don’t believe our government is.

Love, tolerance, unity, and empathy are not political policies. They are emotion and behavior first. How can you see yourself applying these values within your home and community? Talk to me…and stay blissful my friends – E

As I stated in my last blog, I traveled to Greece and Croatia last month. This was at the peak of the classes I was teaching at an art gallery in Greeley, Co. The students were excited for me, however, I didn’t want them to miss any classes.

Therefore, I took some time on my trip to capture some classes on video. Honoring an earlier blog: Perfectionism, an Imperfect Practice, I chose to post as is, with no edits.

This was also a challenge, as I had a fear of doing videos. Said fear has been overcome. I have become a Facebook Live Whore! So if you have a fear of spending money to go overseas, just traveling overseas, or shooting videos, I highly recommend you get off your @$$ and just do it!

And here they are, for your viewing pleasure:

Athens, Greece

On the balcony of our first Airbnb. My very first video, complete with errors. Ha!

Dubrovnik, Croatia (Part 1 of Flow)

It started to rain in the middle of this one! I had fun anyway because that’s how Yogis roll…

Oia, Santorini – Greece (Part 2 Flow)

This was about the best view ever. Unfortunately, I forgot how to use my tripod and so could only actually use the cooling down floor poses. Still, check out that background!

Hope you enjoyed this! If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? If you could teach a video class from said location, what would you teach?

“The Biblical name Moab refers to an area of land located on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Some historians believe the city in Utah came to use this name because of William Pierce, the first postmaster, believing that the biblical Moab and this part of Utah were both “the far country”. However, others believe the name has Paiute origins, referring to the word “moapa” meaning mosquito.Some of the area’s early residents attempted to change the city’s name because, in the Christian Bible, Moabites are demeaned as incestuous and idolatrous. One petition in 1890 had 59 signatures and requested a name change to Vina. Another effort attempted to change the name to Uvadalia.Both attempts failed.” – Source: Wikipedia

This weekend, I took a road trip with the hubby to Moab for the Canyonlands Half Marathon. The stay was far too short. We are now setting a plan to visit, sans running competition.

It is mid-March and the temperature was 83 degrees! Being surrounded by red rocks is surreal. Unfortunately, I did not find time for Yoga. However, I took a nice walking meditation alongside a creek and it was blissful! Again, too short a trip. I did find this:

Moab is quite an attraction for runners, cyclists, Jeepers, and art collectors. You will find great hiking spots, especially the Arches National Park. The Petroglyphs are a stunning sight as well.

If you find yourself in Moab, UT, take some time to visit Hogan Trading Company. With its spinning sculptures, we found it difficult to leave this serene gallery!

Incestuous and Idolatrous?

I think not! We did find some time to find a local AA group and the people were down to Earth, inviting us to go bowling afterward. I feel the namesake “The far country”, is a far better description. Moab, UT is a whole different land in and of itself. Friendly environment, beautiful scenery, and a whole lot to do.

The Canyonlands Half Marathon

The course follows along a breathtaking panorama of the river to Hwy 191, turns east, then heads to the finish at Swanny City Park in downtown Moab.

The Canyonlands Half Marathon Philosophy states: In addition to striving for logistical perfection (an admittedly elusive goal), Moab Half Marathon, Inc. seeks to give back to the community and landscape that makes our events possible. We donate proceeds from the races to charities and non-profits, contribute to a scholarship fund for local graduating seniors and sponsor road cleanups for the three half marathons. We work to reduce the environmental impact of our races through various green initiatives, too. Additionally, our staff are involved in numerous community organizations, including Girls on the Run and the Grand County Cross Country Team. Source – http://moabhalfmarathon.com

He’s pleased with his time!

Afterward, the hubby says to me, “I need a RedBull.” My reply, “Baby, you just ran 13 miles, you earned the right to put in your body, whatever toxic sh!t you wish!” Though I would never drink that garbage, I think to myself. Consequently, I am craving a RedBull the next day.

I tried to convince the hubby to stay an additional day, but he was determined to return home. I am determined to return to Moab, UT!